Don't Miss These Webcasts on Timely Issues

In a webinar held November 14, a panel of experts discussed a new pension requirement approved by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. GASB No. 68, "Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions," affects all public institutions with employees in defined benefit plans.

Speakers Mary Case and Jim Lanzarotta, partners at accounting and business consulting firm Moss Adams, said, "Whether a public institution is part of a state's multiple-employer plan, single-employer plan, agent plan, or offers its own employer plan, Statement 68 requirements will likely accelerate pension expense and liability recognition."

Tom Ewing, controller, Ohio State University, and Dale Hinrichs, associate vice president for finance and controller, Miami University, Ohio, agreed that the issues created by this new requirement require immediate analysis and preparation. Institutions will need to understand measurement, disclosures, allocations, and deferrals.

Other webcasts that were held recently include:

Hiring for a Global Campus: Why a Textbook Approach Will Not Work. Learn about risks surrounding employment law and relations with overseas campuses.

Planning for Declining Governmental Support and Education Is Becoming Anytime, Anywhere: Preparing for the New Normal. Find out howcolleges and universities are rapidly expanding programs beyond their specific geographic campuses, creating opportunities for their institutions and threats to others that fail to respond to those initiatives.

The abovewebcasts are based on the Grant Thornton white paper, "The State of Higher Education in 2012." The series will continue, with three more webcasts scheduled for early 2013:

Globalization.

Asking the Right Questions and Monitoring Strategic Plans at the Board Level.

What Should You Do If You Are Not a Market-Leading University.

Upcoming webcasts in December include Sub-Saharan Africa: What You Need to Know When Conducting Research or Educational Activities in This Region.

To watch a recording of a webcast, visit the on-demand section of the distance learning page at www.nacubo.org. For more information, click on the Distance Learning tab at www.nacubo.org or e-mail Tadu Yimam, director, online learning, at tyimam@nacubo.org.

Staff Member Terrana Reaches 25 Years

Since she joined the staff in September 1987, Maryann Terrana has served NACUBO in various operational and programmatic roles. This fall she celebrated her 25th anniversary with the organization.

As a director of constituent programs, Terrana takes the lead in assessing needs and developing member products and services specifically for small colleges and for comprehensive and doctoral institutions. She is also a key contributor to strategic and operational planning, volunteer management, and collaborative relationships with external organizations that work closely with NACUBO.

She joined the staff as an administrative assistant working with accounting, finance, and research projects, but soon moved to membership and publications. Among her responsibilities over 10 years in that department were annual dues invoicing, annual data collection, the membership directory and database, and publication sales.

In 1998 she became a senior program manager supporting two presidential councils: research universities and information technology. During that time she also managed the annual tuition discounting survey project and created content for the NACUBO Web site.

Since 2004, Terrana has worked with constituent programs. Her responsibilities have included managing two volunteer constituent councils, conducting focus groups, developing concurrent sessions at NACUBO annual meetings, and identifying topics and speakers for webcasts.

"This has been a year of milestones for NACUBO," says John Walda, NACUBO president and CEO. "We are 50 years old, and Maryann Terrana has been a member of our team for 25 of those years.

"It seems that everywhere I go representing NACUBO, I encounter someone who counts Maryann as a colleague, a mentor, or a friend. She continues to inspire those who work alongside her, and she is truly NACUBO's unofficial 'Ambassador of Good Will.'"

Now Available Online: Organizational Development Series

You can now access the Organizational Development series of programs, formerly offered only as individual CD-ROMs, in an online format through the My NACUBO portal on the NACUBO Web site at www.nacubo.org. The purpose of the series is to help colleges and universities build internal capacity for leadership, assessment, and continuous improvement.

The series of six programs assists organizations in developing the expertise necessary to address immediate and long-term issues and maintain organizational excellence over time. Each program includes materials for a facilitator as well as materials for participants. Topics in the series include:

Facilitating Focus Groups.

Organizational Climate Assessment.

Organizational Outcomes and Performance Measurement.

Process Excellence.

The Leadership Style Inventory: Becoming a Strategic Leader.

The Communication Style Inventory: A Guide to Social and Professional Competence.

The project was led by Brent D. Ruben and was designed by the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

NACUBO members can purchase the online programs by a single topic for $20, grouped in a bundle of three for $40, or the entire set for $80. (Prices for nonmembers are $35, $70, and $140 respectively.) For more information, visit the Online Publications page at www.nacubo.org.

Online Course on Change Management

Higher education leaders know that bringing about organizational change can be a challenging and complex process. In order to help CBOs deal with this issue, NACUBO has launched an online self-study course on change management.

In this interactive program developed by Brent D. Ruben, CBOs and their staff will learn not just what to do, but how to get it done. Ruben, executive director of the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, will explain the critical success factors in organizational change: planning, assessment, culture, communication, and leadership.

The event is designed for chief business officers, chief academic officers, associate and assistant deans and department chairs, student affairs deans and directors, auxiliary services directors, and organizational development, continuous improvement, and training professionals. For more information and to register, visit www.nacubo.org.